Daughter of Darkness: Teen Titans
by Etherithical
Summary: When word gets out to the public that Raven is partially demon, things get complicated for our favorite empath. Not only that, but a string of murders have been taking place in Jump City, further breaking the bond between her and her teammates. Who is the murderer? What is their motive? And why are they trying to frame Raven? robrae.
1. Prologue

**HEY GUYS! I know I didn't finish the Aftermath (And Probably never will), but there was a lot of problems with that story so I'm starting a new one! I've planned this one out more, so hopefully it will be better! This is RobRae, btw. If you don't like that please don't read because then this won't be worth your you REALLY want to, of course! In the prologue I will be using the pronoun 'they' because I don't want you to know the character's gender, for extra secrecy.**

The figure paced in circles, their face shrouded by a cloak that was black as night. A smile was spread across their visage as they remembered what had happened just a week prior. It was all glorious memories: flashes of orange fire everywhere, the screams of random civilians as their bodies went of in flames. The figure (or The Shadow, as they liked to call themself) had watched the beauty from atop a tower, smirking haughtily. They would treasure that memory for an eternity.

Footsteps approached, the clanking of metal against stone revealing the arrival of a newly found friend. Slade emerged from the shadows, eyeing the cloaked figure up and down. He looked suspicious, but then again, he always did. That was how he had looked on their first meeting, too.

"Welcome back, Slade," The Shadow chuckled. "I assume you are confirming our deal?" The villain nodded slowly, looking them over carefully.

"Yes," he growled. "You will help me retrieve the girl and make her suffer, and I will allow you to use her for the ceremony. But I don't fully trust you, not yet at least. I need to know who you are so we may become allies."

He gestured to their hood, and on command the mysterious figure did as told. They grinned as the psychopath stepped back in alarm, his eye widening. "I'm not who you think I am," The Shadow whispered before Slade could leave. "It will all be explained later. You just have to trust me for the time being. Agreed?"

They held out a hand, Slade hesitantly taking it in his own and shaking it. The masked villain then pulled out several sheets of paper and handed it to his temporary teammate, letting them look the pages over.

"These are files on the demoness," The Shadow realized, reading the pages. "I assume you stole them from the Titans tower?" Slade nodded. "I have been devising my plan for a while now," he said sounding pleased. "Ever since Trigon had been defeated, and I escaped the Titans before they could imprison me. The plan is simple. We start by breaking the bond between Raven and her is what these are for." He pointed to the files in The Shadow's hands. "Currently few people know about our 'little friend's ancestry. That is about to change."

The Shadow let out a laugh. "Certainly my kind of plan, that is," they replied. "Fear and mistrust are the best starting points." They paused.

"And that is where I come in."

**Very short, but I wanted a quick prologue to tell you what's going on and put in some mystery. Who is The Shadow? Why do they and Slade want Raven. What ceremony? Read on to find out more!**


	2. Chapter 1: The Crime of Genocide

**Other chapters probably won't come out this quick. But, whatever. Btw, this story as said before will be RobRae, but it will be more minor than some other fanfics. The reason for this is I don't want to go through a whole Robin and Starfire breakup scenario, and this fanfic will have more of a sad yet also happy ending. Let's just say the Titans won't end up in an ideal situation. But, it's not going to be so sad that EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER DIES, no, that won't happen.**

Introverts and extroverts were two of the most different and complicated things on Earth. Both were words that defined who you were, how you spoke, how you felt, how you acted overall. They were two categories that separated humankind. Extroverts always wanted to be with you, were usually loud, slightly crazy, and an overwhelming amount of optimism seemed to flow from their bodies and affect all that was around them. On the contrary, introverts normally wanted to be alone, were as quiet as quiet could be, somewhat weird, and pessimistic. Extroverts hung out with extroverts, and introverts hung out with no one but themselves. It was the way life worked. Most of the time, at least. Raven couldn't say things were the same in her own life. She was an introvert in a group of mostly extroverts. The scenario made her feel at times alone, and wishing she was an extrovert herself.

However, there was one Titan who didn't quite fit in either of the two groups: Robin. He was a person who could not be controlled by Earth's stereotypes. He enjoyed hanging out with the other Titans, but other times the Boy Wonder would wish for nothing more than to be alone. He was not optimistic or pessimistic, he was realistic. It was like he was two different people. This was the biggest reason Raven found comfort in him despite her introverted personality. He was her best friend, but she wasn't sure he thought the same of her.

She fell down on her bed, shutting her eyes and entering into the blackness of her thoughts. It was all so… complex, unsolvable, that sort of thing. She had no comfort, because being alone brought her pain, and being with friends made her feel alone. She doubted the other Titans could survive in her scenario, much less enjoy it. From the day she was born she had been doomed, doomed to hurt, doomed to be hated, doomed to die at the age 16. But she was 17, so was she really cursed at all? The defeat of Trigon had given her temporary relief, but nothing lasted forever. If anyone other than her friends learned of her demon ancestry, if anyone discovered what she had done at the order of her father, she would be doomed once again. But this time she possibly wouldn't be doomed to die, but hated and imprisoned, and far from any hope or love.

Her friends would love her no matter what, that was true, but they had been acting quite strange in the past week. Especially Robin. Whenever she entered the living room the boys would shut off the television and everyone would quiet down. Every time a crime alert sounded the Boy Wonder would insist that she stay behind and guard the tower, even though Cyborg's technology made the task useless. Yes, something was going on among her friends, and she was determined to find out what.

Raven flickered her eyes over to the clock on her shelf. It read 5am, a time when hopefully none of the other Titans would be awake. She was quite a bit curious to uncover what her friends were hiding from her, to the point where she was willing to spy on them to learn the truth.

She walked down the halls to the living room, about to open the door when she heard a voice. It was like none of her teammates and had an authoritative tone to it, so she assumed whoever was inside was watching the news. She had been wrong to believe no one would be inside. She put her ear against the door and listened.

"-Good or evil? More on this subject when it's revealed."

Whoever was watching TV shut it off, let out a sigh, and muttered something like: "Stupid idiot maggot spawned psychopath. I'm going to-"

Raven leaped back as the door opened to reveal Robin. His eyes widened at the sight of her, shock covering his face. The two Titans stared at each other for a long time.

"How-how much did you hear?" Robin finally stammered. He seemed to notice the look of confusion on her face, as he immediately relaxed. "Do you want to get some breakfast?" He asked with an anxious smile.

"No," Raven growled with more anger than usual. "What I would like is for you guys to tell me what the heck you're hiding!" Robin looked taken aback by her sudden burst of anger, but before he could speak she continued. "You are my friends!" She cried, black colored magic flaming from her body. "You know I would try to tell you anything after the prophecy. Why can't you do the same? What did I do wrong?"

The Boy Wonder hesitated, then pulled something out of his belt. It was paper, covered in the marks of black ink and photos of people and events. It was a normal newspaper, which her teammate probably retrieved from Jump City during his early morning travels. There was nothing special about it. But for some reason Robin had given it to her.

Curious to discover what this had to do with her friends' secrecy, she turned over to the front page to read, but stopped cold. Her earlier interest was quickly replaced by a wave of shock so immediate that it almost hurt her lungs.

On the cover the photo of a person, the only picture that wasn't in shades of gray. Purples and blues seemed to glow from the page with a radiation that was nearly blinding. A frown she knew quite too well was curved in the person's mouth, eyes narrowed almost menacingly. The

picture clearly was edited, for Raven knew the person in question had no fangs, or horns, and liked not to wear an extra pair of eyes above her own. Other than that, the visage was unmistakable. She was staring at herself.

She drew in a sharp breath. Why was she, of all people, portrayed on a newspaper? Why would the artist/photographer, make her appear as a beast? The headline,written in bold, black letters, revealed it all.

**What has Raven of the Teen Titans been hiding?**

Her face paled and fear seemed to burn in her lungs. She had never, ever felt so terrified before, minus the end of the world scenario and the anniversary of her birth. Her eyes skimmed across the page as she read on, the intensity of the moment increasing with every second. Then the moment she feared arrived, the thing she prayed no one would ever discover. It was there, right in the text, the black ink seeming like the void of constant fear.

**Raven, now revealed to be daughter of Trigon and half-demon, accused of having attempted to commit genocide at her father's will, and has been hiding it ever since. She will hopefully be punished accordingly.**

Raven swallowed hard, dropping the page to the floor. Her hands were shaking as well as her legs, and she knew if she continued to stand she would fall over. Robin let her lean against his shoulder as she regained composure. She let out long, shuddering breaths which seemed to sting her throat. _Why me?_ Her mind seemed to wail. _Why me? Why me?_

After a few minutes she let go of Robin and got to her feet, She stared at him and he stared back, worry etched across his face. "Why didn't you tell me?" She asked in a shaky whisper, eyes distant. The Boy Wonder looked down at his feet with guilt.

"I was worried how you would react," he breathed, twiddling his thumbs. "I care for you, Raven. I didn't want you to stress." He looked back up at her. "I forbade you from helping us with crimes because of the civilians. Whenever one of us goes out, people demand to see you taken down. To them you are a threat, just another psychopath like Slade or Brother Blood. Even the Government is fearing what you've done. New information is coming out everyday. It's not your fault, but I think you're in danger. I'm sure, I mean."

Raven blinked, the realization of her current ordeal still sinking in. Her friend was correct in every way. If normal people thought she was evil, if the Government thought she was evil, if everyone thought she was evil, they wouldn't just let her live a peaceful life with her friends. Even with her powers she could not defend against the wrath of all the people on Earth. Suddenly she understood how it felt to be an escaped criminal, a fugitive of the law, hated by everything you love. Was that how she was going to live the rest of her life? Alone and with nothing? Loathed by existence itself? With fear being the only remaining emotion?

As if reading her thoughts, Robin put a hand on her shoulder and said: "Don't worry. We won't let them take you. You're safe." She smiled weakly at him, even though their bond wouldn't let him be tricked by facial expressions. She could not hide her fear and wonder at the question of who revealed all this information on her. Other than her, only five people knew of her demonic ancestry and the prophecy: the Titans and Slade.

It had to be Slade. None of the Titans would betray her like this. They were her friends, and she owed them her life. But that stirred up another question: Why did Slade want people to hate her? Sure, she had not seen Slade in the past year and didn't know his intentions, but what she did know was that he abhorred her. Whenever he talked to her he spoke with malice, which he did not to the other Titans, even Robin. On her birthday he had taken pride in hurting her, laughing at her distress. Slade hated her, worse than all her friends, maybe even worse than anyone else. Her teammates had no idea of this loathing; in their minds the villain hated all of them equally. But she knew. As an empath she could feel his emotions. When Robin had betrayed him as an apprentice his insides had been splashing like a calm water. But on her birthday it had been like fire, which only intensified when he would burn off her clothes and leave her to watch in horror the vision of the world she would create. She had no clue as to why he despised her so much,only that he did.

"Raven?" Robin asked, knocking her out of her thoughts and back to reality. His brow was creased with worry, as it always was when it came to her. "Do you need to go back to bed?" He questioned quietly. "I know it's a lot to take in, and you're probably quite a bit shocked. I'm sorry."

She shook her head. "No," she replied. "Have you gone to see the sunset yet?" He stared back at her and grinned, a little surprised by her sudden request. "No," he said. "I haven't. Do you want to?" She nodded, and the two Titans left in silence.

They got up to the roof just in time to see the sun rise, casting it's warm glow across the vast, blue waters. She could hardly believe such a beautiful world could harbor such cruelty. But it did, with even more horror than she imagined. Earth had been temporary freedom from the chains of her fate, but that was ignoring the cries of murder, of sorrow, of pain, and of bloodshed. She had seen it all, experienced it all. The only thing that prevented her from returning to Azarath was her friends. They were like candles in the dark of night, illuminating the path to safety. She could never imagine navigating through the shadows with them gone, that was certain. More certain than her destiny, obviously.

"Do you want to get some coffee? There's a new cafe that opened up on Maine street, and I was wondering if you'd like to go." Raven looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "What about the whole 'now everybody hates and wants me arrested' thing?" She asked.

Robin chuckled, twiddling his thumbs casually. "The cafe is on the outskirts of town," he said. "I've already met the owner, and he doesn't believe you're a bad person. Besides if anybody tries to arrest you, they'd have to get through me!" He stood in a battle crouch jokingly, making her chuckle. Robin could be funny and make her laugh, unlike Beast Boy, who's jokes made her think of rotten fish being stuffed in her mouth by a walrus. Sometimes she resented Starfire, who seemed to always be at the Boy Wonder's side. She wanted his admiration instead.

The two Titans flew over the ocean water peacefully, watching the waves as they lapped underneath their feet. Raven carried her friend atop a black disk, going slowly enough as to not sicken him. They reached the shore when the sunset was over and the sun was fully visible, about 6:30. Not many people were awake at this time, and those that were had not noticed their arrival. That was good, knowing what the civilians thought of the demoness.

Robin lead her through the city, keeping to the shadows of the alleyways to not be seen. The air smelt of rotten food and alcohol, probably the remnants of late night gang wanderings. The walk was not long; only a few streets from their starting point. The two stepped out of the alleyway, but did not continue. Raven paused, looking at Robin. His masked eyes were fixed on something with shock. Her eyes turned to where he was staring so she could see it too. She knew where it was even before because of the shouts and screams.

It was a two story building made of bricks and covered in vines, giving it a nice, urban look. She would have loved to go there and check it out if it were not for the mob of people crowding the entryway. One man, twenty years old if she guessed correctly, smashed the window with a baseball bat, glass flying in all directions. A police car sat nearby, the police quietly watching outside, doing nothing. Doing nothing!

Two people pulled a middle aged man out of the building, bleeding from his head and faltering as he walked. His hands were tied by rope behind his back, preventing his escape. The two people brought the man to the police, who were both leaning against the side of their car carelessly.

"This man has committed treason!" One of the people, a woman, yelled. "He should be put to death for his crimes!" One of the police finally stood up straight and looked at the woman haughtily. "What did he do?" He asked, blinking. "He's defenseless at the moment, it would be wrong to kill him."

This sparked an uproar among the crowd, their screams growing louder by the second. "What did he do?!" The woman screeched. "What did he do?! I'll tell you what he did!" She pointed an accusing finger at the man in question, who was staring at her in terror. "This man has openly stated he supported the demon!" Raven stepped back, her head spinning with the revelation. "To support that beast would be to support genocide!" The woman continued. "Don't tell me you believe all of us deserve to fall to her wrath. So kill him! Show the world that you truly care. And then you idiots can finally start taking down the cursed girl!"

The policeman let out a sigh. "We will arrest him," he said, a few people in the crowd starting to yell insults. "Killing him now could be considered murder. But whatever happens, he will be punished." The two policeman lifted the accused man into their car and drove away, leaving the mob to themselves.

Raven shuddered, her terror ever growing and ever churning within like a torrent. If mere citizens would wreak such cruelty on a man who only said he supported her, what would they do to her if she was in their grasp? Images flashed in her head, visions of her bound by chains and screaming as she was burned alive in front of a ravenous crowd. She shook her head, trying to shake it all away. What had she done to make it come to this? True, she had destroyed the world, but she had also saved it! She had righted her own wrong, and now people wanted her to pay for that? What had this world become?

"Come on," Raven whispered, pulling herself out of her terror. "Let's go somewhere more pleasant."

**Nighttime at the cafe.**

Fred paced in circles around the now closed cafe, holding his pistol in his hand just for extra measure. Strange things happened at night, terrible things that would rip your guts out if you weren't careful. As a member of the police he was trained to defend against a world filled with supernatural beings and metahumans, but never once in his life had he imagined trying to take down a demon.

He sighed, listening to the whistle of the wind around him. He was still shocked that a Teen Titan could hold enough evil within herself to be willing to end the existence of all mortal life. Magic users could not be trusted, that was what his parents always told him. That was why he joined the police: The tales of unspeakable evil that magicians had done. His parents were now dead because of a mysterious black cloaked metahuman, killed only a week ago. He knew it was Raven, he was sure of it. Who else would want to kill such frail people.

_Crreeaak_

Fred whirled around, his eyes widening in absolute terror. He pointed his pistol in the direction of the sound, prepared to kill if it was truly necessary. His reaction earned a chuckle from the anonymous figure, in a voice that was obviously female, though could have been a trick of magic.

The person in question stepped out of the shadows almost gracefully, their pitch black cloak shining in the blue moonlight. He could not see their face, for their hood covered it in complete darkness. In their gloved hand was a knife, dripping with red blood that oozed onto the earth. The figure seemed to smile underneath their hood as they moved forward with an elegant air of confidence, making no mistake in their steps.

Fred screamed, dropping his gun to the ground; he was too terrified to imagine using it against this creature of the night. He stepped back, trying to increase the space in between him and the shadowy figure.

Without warning his foe leaped at him and pulled him to the ground. His head smashed against the stone and he winced, knowing the wound would bruise. He kicked and landed his foot on the enemy's slim stomach, who fell back in alarm. Unfortunately for Fred, the kick barely seemed to harm the cloaked figure as in moments they were back on his body, holding him down carefully.

"Y-you're Raven, aren't you?" Fred whispered weakly, his voice shaky as he stared up at the demonic essence that was the cloaked figure. The same person laughed at his remark in the same feminine voice as before. "No," whoever it was snarled, before plunging the knife into his chest. He let out a few gurgling noises, before he went limp as his murderer's feet.

"I can be much, much worse".

**OOOOOHHH! Is Slade the one revealing info on Raven (If you read the prologue, you know he is. If you haven't, well, SPOILER ALERT BUDDIES!) Are the citizens going to do anything horrible to our favorite empath? Is the government going to get involved? What are the Titans going to do about their current ordeal? Read on to find out!**

**Oh, and poor Fred… =(**


	3. Chapter 2: Painfully Joking

**Hello, again. Warning, this chapter is a bit dark, sooo...**

**Ehh, even though this chapter is exiting, it took me a while to complete it. I have some BIG tests coming up, and a lot of books to read, and videos to make. I hope this chapter's excitement makes up for the wait… Even though you'll probably wait this long for each chapter… If the title wasn't hinting it enough, in this chapter our favorite heroes may get a little visit from a friend in Gotham. Not gonna tell you anymore, though!**

The two Titans returned to the tower late at night to find their three remaining friends awake, enthusiastically cooking tofu bacon or some Tamaranian dish. As usual, the television switched off as Raven entered the room, the remote held in Cyborg's hand as he laughed nervously. Before he could react the remote whisked out of his grasp and into the grip of the empath, who turned the television back on and sat down to see what rumors the world was sharing about her.

"I told her," Robin explained, giving her an anxious look. Cyborg nodded, turning his attention back to the television and the now fuming demoness. The tin-man wouldn't have been surprised if her head suddenly exploded, seen as her face was red and black magic flamed from her body.

"It's only a matter of time before the Government finds a way to take down the cursed demon," the newscaster growled, his expression unemotional, yet angered all the same. Raven got back to her feet, about to yell an insult when the crime alert sounded, blaring into her ears. She let out a yelp and fell on her rear, wanting nothing more than for the noise to turn off. Robin got to his feet and gestured for the Titans to come, then looked to Raven, who had pulled on her hood and flown next to him.

"You sure you want to go?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. She nodded. "This is one way I can prove I'm not as bad as everyone thinks I am," she said, blinking, and looking at Robin's communicator. "What's the problem?" The Boy Wonder picked it up and stared at it for a long moment, then looked back at her.

"A dead body was found near the cafe earlier," he explained. "We're going to check it out."

The five Titans then left, with Starfire and Raven in the air, Robin on his R-Cycle, and Cyborg and Beast Boy in the T-Car. From up high the city lights outshone even the stars that glimmered in the countryside, reflecting against the blue waters. It was a lovely sight, a different kind of beauty than she saw in Azarath. Despite all the evils within, the Earth was a beautiful place, filled with an overwhelming amount of life of love. That point of view was ignoring the fact that the entire population abhorred her because of her crimes.

Raven found the body easily, for she knew where the cafe was located. The victim was a man about thirty, sprawled in an unhuman position, his arms and legs twisted wrongly. Blood pooled from a wound in his chest at a steady rate. She breathed in, realization hitting her: This man had been stabbed, but the weapon was missing.

Her eyes flickered up to the building, and immediately stopped dead, eyes widening. On the wall were words, written in the victim's blood. Her veins seemed to chill as she read them.

_The shadow is coming for you all._

She stepped back and slipped on the blood, falling to the ground covered in dripping redness. Starfire, who had just arrived, helped her get to her feet, looking at the corpse nervously as she did so. The other Titans reached them shortly, first Robin, and then the other two boys.

"Who do you think undertook such cruelty?" Starfire asked after a few minutes of complete silence. Robin opened his his mouth to answer when a scream sounded nearby. Raven looked up to see smoke rising in the distance, probably from the museum nearby. Now that she listened she could hear the cries of the victims clearly.

"Fire," she growled, taking off before her teammates could protest. She had been right when she thought the museum was in flames; half of it burned with red, orange, yellow, and gold. In the unburnt end gunshots sounded; that was where the majority of the screams were coming from. For a moment she was torn between the decision of whether to stop the flames or whoever was shooting, but made her choice quickly when she saw firefighters closing in on the fire. Without any more hesitation she zoomed down to the museum entry, letting the air whisk past her face.

She landed at the museum doorway, one of the doors swung open completely. Hanging from the un open door was a dead body, a man with a horrible, twisted grin on his face. Feeling a twinge of fear she stepped inside, trying to shake off a tense feeling in her bones. "You stop bad guys all the time," she told herself. "There's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing at a-." She was cut off by a scream in the distance, the cry feminine, followed by a maniacal laugh that sent shivers down her spine. She ran down the hall, pressing her ear against a closed door and listening for a voice.

"Please! I won't tell anyone, I promise! Just let me go!" It was the same female voice as before, panicked and sobbing. She was tempted to go inside and help the poor girl, but fear of whoever was in there with her held her back.

"Oh, but what would be the fun in that?"Another person replied in a singsong voice. A gunshot sounded, along with the thump of the victim's body as she fell to the floor. Suddenly, Raven knew she needed backup, and really bad. A door opened inside the other room as the murderer left, and then silence. She waited for a few minutes, before going inside.

The room was filled with countless priceless artifacts, all encased in bulletproof glass, and covered in droplets of blood. The now dead woman laid in the corner, her eyes blank with lifelessness. She pulled of her hood and knelt down to examine the corpse. The victim had been shot in the forehead, the bulletwound deep and bloody. Using her powers so not to touch the blood, she pulled out the bullet and dropped it into her hand. It was long and ridged on the edge for cutting deeper into flesh. She turned it over, and in seeing what was on the other side, yelped and dropped it to the floor

Raven starred at the fallen object with a gaping mouth, her eyes widened and her face paled. Recovering from her shock, she picked the bullet back up and stared at it once again. Written in green letters that seemed to drip across the bullet, were words that seemed impossible in the circumstance.

_Hello Raven._

A horrible, insane laugh broke her out of her thoughts. Raven whirled around, just to have a hand grab her throat, choking her. She cried out in pain as the face in front of her came into view. The person gave her a wicked, unhinged grin.

"Oh, it's birdie girl!" The Joker exclaimed. "Nice to finally meet birdie boy's little demon friend!"

**Robin**

Robin tumbled through the flames, not only trying to find any survivors but also Raven, who had disappeared just a few minutes prior. He was not worried that she would be burned by the flames, for she was too powerful, but that someone would see her and do something horrible while he was away. He knew what the civilians did to people who even supported his friend, What cruelties would they carry out on her if she fell into their grasp? He shuddered right after dodging a few falling walls. Maybe Raven could easily avoid the flames, but it was much harder for him, who was merely human. He grimaced as an ember hit his skin, burning the exposed part of his arm. It hurt, but he had experienced much worse.

Nearby, Starfire picked up a little boy and pulled him through the flames. Her being Tamaranian was very helpful in this circumstance, for she could withstand extreme heat. The boys were the ones with the problems. All three were struggling to avoid the flames, and saving the people within.

A sudden noise made Robin turn, a noise he knew much too well. Shivers were sent down his spine as the same cackle sounded again, followed by a gunshot. Immediately he knew who had started the fire, and where Raven was at the present moment. A cry of pain cut through the air, one he recognised very, very well. His friend was in danger!

**Raven**

Raven grappled at the famous villain's hand, trying desperately to release her throat from from his grasp. Her lungs burned from the lack of oxygen; all she wanted was another breath. Her pale face was going the color of her hair, all she could do was kick at her captor and hope she could be released. The Joker gave her an unhinged grin as she struggled, but failed to escape. "Poor little birdie," he said, stroking her hair with his free hand. "I almost feel bad for you… Just kidding!" He threw her to the ground, her teeth clacking together as her side hit the floor. Her hands instantly flew up to her neck as she pulled in several precious breaths which she had lacked just moments ago. She grimaced at the pain in her lungs; they felt like they were in flames.

_Why is the Joker here?_ She could not help but wonder. _He's supposed to be in Gotham, not Jump!_ Deep within she had an eerie feeling that his arrival had something to do with her, that and the murder near the cafe. _Could he be the killer?_ It was likely, seen as both happened at a similar time. But it just didn't feel right. If the Joker had some well engineered plan to destroy the Titans, he would yell it out to the world, not hide his crimes underneath another name. It just wasn't in his nature to be secretive. He had no knowledge beforehand of her demon ancestry, so he couldn't reveal any information. Nor had he met her prior; Robin was the only Titans he knew. None of it fit together like it had Slade.

"Aw," the person in question hissed. He was standing right above her with a knife in one hand and a gun in the other. "I'm not done with you yet, sweety." Sliding his gun in his belt, he grabbed the hood of her cloak before she could escape, and pulled her back to her feet. In moments the knife was pressed to her throat, drawing a little blood at her jawline. The liquid trickled down her neck slowly, cold against her skin. The Joker put his finger against some and licked it.

"Am I gonna do it?" He asked,pushing the knife farther into her skin. Raven, her eyes widening as she stared at the dangerous weapon that was inches from killing her. She was terrified of the idea of death, that her fate was in the hands of a psychopath. If he wanted her dead all he'd have to do was press, and she'd never see her friends again. She shut her eyes, not wanting the last thing she would see to be her hideous murderer.

"Don't worry, dearest!" The Joker cried, throwing her to the ground and landing on top of her back. "I would kill you now, but I've been told to keep you alive so someone else can deal with you. That doesn't mean I can't have fun though!" Raven screamed as the villain's dagger was thrust into her arm, it's sharp edge ripping through her pale dripped down her limb and onto the already bloody floor. She squirmed underneath the deranged man, trying to ignore the terrible pain of the malfeasance. She kicked at the Joker wildly, but failed to hit her target, and in turn failed to escape. Smiling, the villain slid his dagger across her already wounded arm, drawing more red blood. Her shrieks grew more constant as she was continuously slashed across her back, her blood splattering over the corrupt man's face.

Raven let out a pained gasp as the Joker pressed the side of her face against the bloody floor, holding a hand to her cheek. Her stomach rose and fell as she pulled in several deep breaths, trying to ignore the pressure against her face. His fingernails dug into her cheek, digging into the fragile skin. "Stop," she pleaded, barely able to open her mouth with the pressure against her visage. "P-please stop."

The Joker laughed hideously, showing her his bloodstained teeth. He raised his dagger, preparing for another blow against her back when-

"Stop!"

The Joker was pulled off her back by another force, pulling the villain to the ground with a rage filled cry. The other person was fast and lithe, with a somewhat graceful leap and amazing dexterity. The villain let out a cat-like hiss as they tussled on the floor, failing to stab each other with their weapons. Raven could hardly see what was going on; the figures moved so swiftly, all she saw were flashes of colors and the shine of the villain's knife.

After a few minutes a high pitched scream cut through the air, burning her ears with increasing intensity. The Joker had been stabbed in the leg, deep enough to leave him unconscious but shallow enough to keep him alive. Sirens wailed in the distance as the firefighters, police, and ambulance approached to deal with the fire, the Joker, and the casualties.

Raven tried to get to her feet, but her legs throbbed with so much pain that immediately she collapsed back to the floor. Her savior approached and held out a gloved hand, his masked eyes creased with worry. She grabbed his hand and he pulled her to her feet, letting her lean against his shoulder. It was clear now that the person in question was Robin, here to save her from his mentor's arch-nemesis. He led her out of the destroyed museum and into the T-Car, where he wrapped her in blankets and let her lie on the back seat. It was technically illegal to ride a car without a seatbelt, but the half-demon heroine was in too much pain to worry about that at the present moment. The drive home was quiet, the only sound being her raspy, pained breaths. Her blood trickled onto the seat, sure to leave a stain and enrage Cyborg. She shut her eyes in an attempt to fall asleep, but failed. The pain was too intense.

Robin parked the T-Car in the garage and got out swiftly, his movements quick and panicked. He opened the side door and pulled out a weakened Raven, who was nearly unconscious due to blood-loss. She continuously let out moans and pained gasps as the two Titans walked through the Tower. Her eyes were barely open, shutting every few seconds before opening again. The Boy Wonder lead his pained comrad to the infirmary, where he laid her down on the bed and covered her in a blanket. He grabbed a few cloths from the cupboard and wrapped them around her wounded back and her wounds were beginning to stitch back together due to her magic, but Robin knew they would still hurt for a few days afterwards.

He cursed himself for not getting there sooner, for letting his mentor's enemy get close to his friend. Poor Raven had been caught in the worst situation with no backup. If he had gotten to her just a few seconds later she might have been dead, a twisted knife dug into her back. Robin shuddered, for the thought was so horrid he could hardly bear to think it.

With a glance at the wounded girl he pulled out his communicator and flicked it open, revealing Cyborg's metallic face. "What's up, Robin?" The tin-man asked, his face filled with worry. "Raven needs medical attention," he responded, moving the communicator so his teammate could see the now unconscious demoness. "She can heal herself, but I want you to watch her because of your knowledge on health. Have Starfire fly you over; I'm going to come back and continue to help Beast Boy with the fire." Cyborg nodded, before the screen went black. The Boy Wonder knew his friend would be here in mere moments, so he took the R-Cycle and rode over to the city.

**Later That Night**

Robin paced through the city, walking briskly toward the crime scene to investigate the mysterious murder. An hour prior the fire had been put out, and now smoke rose from the museum as firefighters searched for still smoldering pieces of ruin. Beast Boy had been sent back to the Tower so he could go to bed, though despite how late it was the Boy Wonder he had done that instead of checking on Raven or playing video games with Cyborg. It was clear all of the Titans would be very tired tomorrow. He didn't care; he had more important things to do.

He approached the body, twitching his nose as he tried to ignore the repellant stench of blood. The man was lying in the same twisted position, his eyes still blank and lifeless. He was shocked that anyone could act such cruelty upon another. That was why he was here: To find out who the culprit was.

Robin let his gloved hand touch the blood on the man's chest, holding it up to his face so he could study it. It was normal, unlike Raven's mysteriously dark-red, almost black blood and Starfire's, which was nearly orange. The victim was human.

He looked up and immediately something caught his eye, a shine so bright it nearly blinded him. He walked over to a fallen dumpster next to the cafe and dug past a few pieces of garbage until he found it. Cleverly hidden where no one would look, and covered in crimson blood, was a twisted knife.

Pulling some equipment out of his utility belt, he ran a DNA scan on the handle, where there was clearly a fingerprint. The scanner took a few moments, before it beeped with a red light. It had found its match. He took a quick look, but immediately dropped it to the floor, shock covering his face.

"B-but that's impossible!" He stammered. "She was with me the entire day!" _She's lied to you before, hasn't she?_ The dark part of his mind hissed. Carefully, he picked the scanner back up and looked at it again. It was there, clear as the sunshine. Written in white letters was a name he recognised very well. One he knew by heart, to the depths of his soul. He breathed in a sharp breath. The word couldn't lie.

_Raven._

**CLIFFHANGERS! As always, I left you with even more questions than before. Why is the Joker in Jump? Is Raven really the murderer, or is someone else behind this? Am I personally being too obvious with the Shadow, or not obvious enough?**

**Poor Raven just always gets in the thick of things, doesn't she?**


End file.
